Last week, the Engineering Co-op and Placement Office launched their first Career and Personal Development Workshop. This 8-week long workshop, held via WebEx, is designed to prepare students in their co-op or permanent job search. The workshop, which started on May 27 and runs through July 22, 2020, is optional for engineering sophomores, juniors, and seniors as well as May 2020 graduates.
“Our students are extremely talented,” says Stephanie Schindewolf, Director of the Engineering Co-op and Placement Program. “We wanted to make sure they were as good at marketing themselves as they are being engineers. We put our heads together to come up with a way to provide them with additional skills that will help them stand out from other job seekers. Not knowing what the real impact of COVID-19 is on the job market, we felt that we owed it to our students to give them the best chance of succeeding out there.”
Students participate in the workshop, held via WebEx.
The workshops are every Wednesday from 6- 8 p.m. and are facilitated by both Schindewolf and Becky Hartman, Co-op and Placement Coordinator. For students whose summer co-op was impacted by COVID-19, the workshop counts towards those credits.
Students will explore the following topics:
- Cover letter and resume writing
- Requesting references
- Marketing using social media
- Understanding your strengths using CliftonStrengths by Gallop
- Interview preparation
- Job search optimization
- Crafting your elevator pitch
- Understanding Applicant Tracking Systems
As part of the curriculum, local engineering leaders will present a series of “Coffee Talks” where they discuss their career path and take questions from students. To date, the speaker lineup has included Jim Black, the Director of Engineering at Test Fuchs Corporation, and Andrew Stevens, Test Engineer II at The Lubrizol Corporation.
“What we are hearing from students is they want to gain an edge on others looking for a job,” says Becky Hartman, Engineering Co-op and Placement Coordinator and workshop facilitator. “They also want to get face time with our Coffee Talk engineering leaders, since in-person networking is not happening now.”
Through a partnership with UA’s Institute for Leadership Advancement, by the end of the workshop all participants will have completed the majority of requirements for the Leadership Development Certificate. They will only have to complete the Personal Leadership Skills course (6100:200), a one-credit class, to receive the certificate.
The Co-op Office hopes to continue the workshop each summer.
Related Content:
- Engineering Co-op and Placement Office
- Watch videos of our “Engineers at Work” featuring students and graduates
- Read engineering student co-op stories